Yao Zhongyu, 1974
Always keep the gun firmly in hand
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Posted on 01/02/2003 6:47:08 AM PST by chance33_98
Despite restrictions, guns still allowed in checked bags
The Associated Press
To airline passengers concerned about whether they can still pack heat: Yes, guns and ammunition are still allowed in checked luggage but not in carry-on bags.
Questions about guns are among the most frequently asked by travelers, said a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees all aviation security issues created by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"The gun policy hasn't changed," Ed Martelle said.
As of Wednesday, all checked luggage is screened for explosives. But carrying a gun in checked luggage should not result in any type of delay or prompt unnecessary manual searches of bags, Martelle said.
"If we know what's in there, we have no reason to open it," he said.
Firearms have never been permitted inside the passenger cabin, except when carried by law enforcement officers. But passengers have always been able to transport unloaded guns in the cargo hold, and the latest round of security rules doesn't change that.
Gun owners such as Jerry Patterson, who as a state senator helped craft Texas' 1996 concealed weapons law, had wondered what to expect in the new year regarding guns.
"I frequently carry a handgun in checked baggage," said Patterson, now Texas land commissioner. "I guess we'll see."
Until Wednesday, passengers were randomly selected to have their checked bags searched for possible explosives at the ticket counter. But now, all luggage will be screened by an X-ray machine, checked mechanically for explosive residue or manually opened by a TSA employee who will search the suitcase outside the passenger's view.
If a weapon happens to leave gunpowder residue on luggage, and the bag tests positive for explosive material through trace detection, a screener would send the bag through one of the large, van-size X-ray machines, Martelle said.
If a gun can be detected by X-ray, according to government procedure, there would be no reason to open the bag.
"We don't want to open people's bags to begin with. That's an absolute means of last resort," Martelle said.
It's not clear how many firearms are transported among checked baggage.
Airlines are not obligated to keep count, even though they require passengers to fill out a form that notifies baggage handlers of the presence of a weapon.
Some airlines also ask for proof that the gun is unloaded.
Nobody likes lines and waiting. Nobody likes having their bags searched. But I have spoken with hundreds of people who range from tolerant to outright supportive. Oddly enough, in the airports I hear lots of support from passengers. The greatest amount of griping I hear is on FR!
Praise Allah! They are immortal! < /sarcasm >
You really ought to read the transcripts of the phone calls made from AA Flight 11. The question is whether the handgun used by the hijackers to shoot Israeli army Captain Lewin was being carried by him, and his own weapon was used on him after the hijackers cut his throat, as described by Flight 11 flight attendant Amy Sweeney before her own death, brought the weapon with them, or had it waiting on board for their use.
And, of course, the FAA memo, which states that Lewin, sittong in seat 9B, *was shot by passenger Satam al-Suquami,* sitting behind Lewin in seat 10B.
Remember, you can't sue the airlines if you're murdered by terrorists aboard one of their flights, even if they're irresponsibly at fault. If you travel under such conditions and are killed, you have only yourself to blame.
Care to give it a shot?
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